Gambling Thread

[Cosmo]

Article is paywalled, but I'm guessing it's similar to a story that This American Life had about a Midwest woman who kept getting lured back to riverboat casinos with loans, room comps and everything. She lost somewhere near $600K and eventually sued the casinos for predatory behavior.

Personally, I thought I'd miss betting during the World Cup. Nope. Still don't.

 

[BurnsWhenIPee]

I don't know, these stories have me torn. I sympathize with these people, but part of me thinks if it wasn't gambling, it would be an addiction to drugs or alcohol or food or sex or <insert unhealthy vice here>.

I've enjoyed gambling for probably the last 40 years, whether it's a random casino trip, horse racing, playing cards, gambling while on the golf course, and currently sports wagering. I've never, ever bet more than I could afford to lose. I see it as a form of entertainment, a way to make football weekends more interesting and have some fun.

Seeing people **** up their lives because they can't control themselves is sad. But whether it's a sickness or not, it still is *their* conscious decision to do these things that lead to their lives being ****ed up.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

I don't know, these stories have me torn. I sympathize with these people, but part of me thinks if it wasn't gambling, it would be an addiction to drugs or alcohol or food or sex or <insert unhealthy vice here>.

I've enjoyed gambling for probably the last 40 years, whether it's a random casino trip, horse racing, playing cards, gambling while on the golf course, and currently sports wagering. I've never, ever bet more than I could afford to lose. I see it as a form of entertainment, a way to make football weekends more interesting and have some fun.

Seeing people **** up their lives because they can't control themselves is sad. But whether it's a sickness or not, it still is *their* conscious decision to do these things that lead to their lives being ****ed up.

The biggest problem is the frictionless nature of doing it on your phone - as opposed to going to the sports book or calling a bookie and having to meet on Tuesday on settle up.

 

[BurnsWhenIPee]

I view that frictionless nature as a positive, for my experiences. I like getting a sudden urge to bet the over on a Stanley Cup finals game and being able to do it on my phone in 30 seconds.

And every other vice is easier now, too. Apps on your phone to buy ****ty fast food that will kill you with 5 clicks, drive-through liquor stores (in some places), dating apps where you can cheat on your spouse or engage in swinging activities. Don't need a pay phone anymore to hook up with a drug dealer.

Easy access will always be bad for some, but good for (hopefully) the vast majority.

 

[Batman]

My state requires you to actually go to the casino's sports book to place your bet, which I'm thankful for. I don't bet more than I can afford (usually about $50 a week during football season), but I know there are times I'd chase some losses or want that one more hit on a late night game because I get stupidly competitive when it comes to gambling. Having to make that extra trip instead of whipping out my phone is enough of a buffer to keep me out of trouble.
Gotta think I'm not alone in that regard.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

My state requires you to actually go to the casino's sports book to place your bet, which I'm thankful for. I don't bet more than I can afford (usually about $50 a week during football season), but I know there are times I'd chase some losses or want that one more hit on a late night game because I get stupidly competitive when it comes to gambling. Having to make that extra trip instead of whipping out my phone is enough of a buffer to keep me out of trouble.
Gotta think I'm not alone in that regard.

And the in-person sports books can't tailor your experience via algorithms to get more money out of your pocket.

 

[BYH 2: Electric Boogaloo]

Bryce Harper is a massive tool, part the infinite.

 

[BYH 2: Electric Boogaloo]

The biggest problem is the frictionless nature of doing it on your phone - as opposed to going to the sports book or calling a bookie and having to meet on Tuesday on settle up.

My best buddy from college and I have talked frequently about how ****ed we'd be if we were 30 years younger and had the ability to bet on our cell phones. There's little doubt I'd be calling my parents telling them I'd pissed away tens of thousands of dollars in a semester.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

My best buddy from college and I have talked frequently about how ****ed we'd be if we were 30 years younger and had the ability to bet on our cell phones. There's little doubt I'd be calling my parents telling them I'd pissed away tens of thousands of dollars in a semester.

As it was, my bookie era really cut into my food budget in the post-college years.

 

[BurnsWhenIPee]

I can't tell which would have been worse for my existence when in college - online sports gambling or social media.

Probably would have been both unhireable and living in a refrigerator box somewhere.

 

[I Should Coco]

The biggest problem is the frictionless nature of doing it on your phone - as opposed to going to the sports book or calling a bookie and having to meet on Tuesday on settle up.

I was an innocent young lad when I got my first "real" job, at a Chicagoland grocery store chain (Jewel Foods). Had no clue about gambling, other than my dad playing poker with his friends and helping to run the "Las Vegas Night" fundraiser at our parish.

After a few weeks at the grocery store, I began noticing many of my fellow employees approach a guy who worked in produce, then go in back with him for a few minutes. Often on Fridays (payday) or soon after.

That was the world of sports betting, circa 1988.

 

[dixiehack]

My best buddy from college and I have talked frequently about how ****ed we'd be if we were 30 years younger and had the ability to bet on our cell phones. There's little doubt I'd be calling my parents telling them I'd pissed away tens of thousands of dollars in a semester.

College-age me was convinced he knew every damn thing there was to know about sports. I’d have been rolling out a sleeping bag under the interstate in no time flat.

 

[tapintoamerica]

The biggest problem is the frictionless nature of doing it on your phone - as opposed to going to the sports book or calling a bookie and having to meet on Tuesday on settle up.

Easiest addiction to feed. No effort or added fees required.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

Easiest addiction to feed. No effort or added fees required.

And it's a combination of gambling and screen time addiction.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

That might be low because they don't have a way to track money wagered on illegal websites.

And it might be high because I could bet $100 worth five times before I lose it all, so maybe I actually wagered $500 but lost just $100.

 

[playthrough]

The biggest problem is the frictionless nature of doing it on your phone - as opposed to going to the sports book or calling a bookie and having to meet on Tuesday on settle up.

At my first newspaper job, a sports dept coworker hooked me up with a local bookie who indeed settled up on Tuesdays in a back booth at a popular bar. Now there's a sentence dripping with nostalgia that youngsters now wouldn't understand.

 

[BurnsWhenIPee]

That brings back memories, playthrough.

At one of my former stops, there was a cigar store that was a horribly disguised front for gambling, with mumblings of organized crime connections. Think about it, in this day and age, a freestanding place whose primary business was to sell cigars, cigarettes and candy.

Once you got referred in by an existing customer, you could go in there and place bets on whatever sporting event was going on. I didn't bet much there, except for buying "tickets", which were sealed tickets for any televised game that was going on. The same as buying squares. So you could buy a $1/$2/$5, etc., ticket on the Bears/Packers game, then open the ticket and get, for example, 4/0. So at the end of each quarter, if the score ended with 4 for the Bears and 0 for the Packers, you'd collect. Great way for a low-expense reason to watch a meaningless Bulls-Clippers game in December. They went up to $25/$50 tickets for the Super Bowl, and that was 30 years ago. Sometimes wonder if that place is still around.

 

[playthrough]

That brings back memories, playthrough.

At one of my former stops, there was a cigar store that was a horribly disguised front for gambling, with mumblings of organized crime connections. Think about it, in this day and age, a freestanding place whose primary business was to sell cigars, cigarettes and candy.

Once you got referred in by an existing customer, you could go in there and place bets on whatever sporting event was going on. I didn't bet much there, except for buying "tickets", which were sealed tickets for any televised game that was going on. The same as buying squares. So you could buy a $1/$2/$5, etc., ticket on the Bears/Packers game, then open the ticket and get, for example, 4/0. So at the end of each quarter, if the score ended with 4 for the Bears and 0 for the Packers, you'd collect. Great way for a low-expense reason to watch a meaningless Bulls-Clippers game in December. They went up to $25/$50 tickets for the Super Bowl, and that was 30 years ago. Sometimes wonder if that place is still around.

Good stuff. In the same town where I had the bookie, there was a pool hall with a back room that had a few slot machines. I was a regular in the pool hall and didn't understand for a while why so many people came in the front door and went straight to the back.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

Since we are sharing old bookie stories ...

One of my dad's best friends owned a farm implement dealership over in eastern Oklahoma. He was also connected. I mean, connected connected.

• Wayne was a bookie. But he had a $1,000 per bet minimum. High-rollers only. He referred people with smaller bankrolls to bookies who used him as a layoff man and even de facto banker. He used his connections in Kansas City to lay off action when needed. He kept a .38 caliber revolver in one boot and about $5,000 in cash in the other.

• He owned a several farms across the countryside. In the years before the Cherokees and Choctaws had casinos, he had one in a warehouse on one of his farms. It wasn't visible from the county road, thanks a thicket of trees and a slight hill. I went once. They had craps, blackjack, a poker room (pre-Moneymaker so they were playing 7-card stud) and a dozen or so slot machines. Somebody there recognized me and told Wayne. He dogcussed me for about five minutes straight and said I should never go over there again. So I didn't.

• I watched him bet more $2,000 on a cockfight at Mid-America Game Club - which was then quasi-legal.

• Dad had a house on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Ark., so I spent just about every Oaklawn race weekend down there. One Saturday, dad, Wayne and two other guys show up on Friday afternoon after I had arrived. On Saturday, we had a good day at the track. It was the second-best day I've ever had at the track. I was in grad school at the time. The money wasn't life-changing for me, but it dang sure was semester-changing. I go out drinking with some buddies and roll back in around 1 am. Wayne's truck is parked in the driveway with the keys in the ignition and the door wide open. As I'm walking to the front door, I spot some money on the ground. Then another bill and another. Eventually, I gather up just more than $1,000 and put it on the kitchen table. The next morning, I find out Wayne had gone to an underground card game while Dad and the rest went to the house. He was very drunk when he got back and dropped the money out of his jeans pocket while digging out the spare key to the door. He laughed about it, complimented me and said he probably wouldn't have missed it if I'd just kept it all.